ok guys its been a while, my buddy's 93 civic w/ d15 and 5 speed is acting weird, its randomly shutting off, seems like the main relay down by the clutch pedal. the weird thing tho, is when it does it, the tach jumps like crazy but the engine does not rev, at idle it bounces from about 800 RPMS to 15-2000 RPMS. once it shuts off, wait about 10 minutes and it starts back up and doesnt shut off the rest of the day usually. (will still shut off every once in a while). is that weird tach problem the tach? or is that the relay too you guys think?

 

Igniter in the distributor is probably bad if the tach jumps around.

 

that would have my tach jumping arround w/o effecting anything else? all that happens is the needle jumps arround like its spazing, no effect on power, ect.

 

how could the igniter cause the tach to jump around?

 

That sounds like the igniter.

The tach gets its signal from the igniter.

 

hey replace the igniter and that will stop the rev and should stop the stalling out to

 

mine did the same **** when my alternator went out. right before it started sputering. it either means a bad ground or a loss in power. if it was an ignitor it would turn off or drive funny and not have any power.

 

alternator? really?

 

Note the connection between the igniter and tachometer on the lower right below:


IOW, the igniter among other things senses the RPM and sends a signal to the tachometer.

Test the igniter. Like the others say, there is a good chance it is the problem. See the shop manual or the free online manual at www.autozone.com, http://www.autozone.com/addVehicleId...00c15280061642

More guidance on igniter testing is at http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/ignit...r-testing.html